Cherry Loaf Cake
A classic butter loaf asks for patience at the start: the butter and sugar need a long beating until almost white and fluffy. After that it’s easy, and the cherries add what a plain loaf lacks — sharpness and juiciness. We like plenty of fruit spread evenly through the crumb, so here are two tricks that keep it from sinking to the bottom.
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 1 h 5 min
- Rest
- 1 h 30 min
- Total
- 3 h
- Servings
- 10
- Level
- Medium
- Per serving
- 345 kcal
Ingredients
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What to use instead
Thick plain yogurt works instead of the sour cream.
Makes: one 25 × 11 cm loaf, 10 slices
Shopping list
The ingredients for the servings you chose — copy them or send them to a messenger. Tick what you already have at home: only the rest goes on the list.
Method
Oven
170 °C · top and bottom heat, no fan
With a fan: 150 °C
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Step 1: Prepare the cherries
Thaw frozen cherries in a sieve so the juice drains off, about 30 minutes; for fresh ones, simply remove the stones. Pat the fruit dry with kitchen paper and toss in 1 heaped tbsp flour.
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Step 2: Heat the oven
Heat the oven to 170 °C (340 °F). Line a 25 × 11 cm loaf tin with baking paper, leaving an overhang to lift the cake out later.
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Step 3: Cream the butter and sugar
Beat the soft butter with the sugar, salt and vanilla for 4–5 minutes, until almost white and fluffy.
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Step 4: Add the eggs
Add the eggs one at a time, beating for about a minute after each. If the mixture starts to curdle, add a spoonful of the flour to bring it back.
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Step 5: Fold in the flour
Mix the flour with the baking powder and fold it in with a spatula in two additions, alternating with the sour cream, just until smooth.
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Step 6: Layer with the cherries
Spread a third of the batter, without fruit, over the base of the tin. Fold the cherries into the rest and spoon it on top, then level. Run a wet knife lengthwise down the centre to make a shallow groove — the loaf will split neatly along it.
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Step 7: Bake
Bake for 55–65 minutes, covering with foil after 40 minutes if the top darkens. It’s done when a skewer from the centre comes out free of raw batter — a pink streak of cherry juice doesn’t count.
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Step 8: Cool
Leave in the tin for 15 minutes, lift out by the paper and cool completely on a rack. Dust with icing sugar before serving.
Tips & variations
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Tip
The butter must be properly soft, around 20 °C: a finger presses into it easily, but it isn’t shiny or greasy. Only then does creaming build the airy base the cake relies on.
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Variation
Swap the cherries for blueberries or diced plums, or add 60 g chopped dark chocolate for a cherry-chocolate loaf.
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Swap
Thick plain yogurt works instead of the sour cream.
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Storage
Wrapped in cling film, the loaf stays moist for up to 3 days at room temperature. By day two the crumb is even more evenly infused with cherry juice.
Nutrition
| 1 serving | Whole dish 10 servings | |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 345 kcal | 3,450 kcal |
| Protein | 5 g | 50 g |
| Fat | 18 g | 180 g |
| Carbohydrates | 40 g | 400 g |
Approximate values calculated from standard ingredient data.
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